Pusher shoe sortation conveyors are well known for directing articles on the conveyor to a desired path. In general, such sortation conveyors include a longitudinally moving endless conveying surface for carrying articles. Pusher shoes, also referred to as pushers or shoes, are carried by the conveyor, configured to be selectively directed to move across the lateral width of the sortation conveyor by actuation of a switch. The switch directs the pusher from a home path, along an outside edge of the sortation conveyor, onto a divert guide path underlying the conveying surface conveyor. The guide path, typically defined by a guide track, causes the pusher to move laterally so as to engage an article and divert it onto a spur conveyor.
Under certain circumstances, pushers may be subjected to an undesired level of force, such as might be applied to pusher cap during lateral divert of the pusher, which interferes with the desired travel of the pushers. In such instances, damage may occur to components of the conveyor, such as the guide tracks, switches, slats and pushers. A pusher which is configured for the pusher cap to separate from the pusher base upon the application of an undesired level of force can minimize or prevent damage to conveyor components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,376, issued Mar. 1, 2005, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/800,070 filed on Mar. 12, 2004, and U.S. patent application titled Sortation Conveyor And Crossover Switch Therefor, inventor Justin Zimmer, filed Jun. 6, 2006, are hereby incorporated by reference.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.